Quote
“K Kids and related programs give students the chance to develop good solid character by making a difference and by thinking
of others first. Feeling good can be addictive, don’t you think?”
—Vernoy Paolini
,
faculty advisor
K-Kids club at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School
Vernon, New Jersey |
Clubhouse
Kiwanis ‘saint’ goes marching in
Photo Credit: Anne Chadwick Williams, The Sacramento Bee |
Not generally one to toot his own horn, Sargent Wright recently orchestrated a drive to collect musical instruments for middle schools in Metairie, Louisiana. |
When it comes to being an instrument of service, Sargent Wright knows the score. The 87-year-old member of the Carmichael, California, Kiwanis club, led a drive to replace musical instruments for middle schools in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Drumming up support from clubs in the Sacramento area, Sargent collected and delivered 125 used saxophones, clarinets, trumpets, and other instruments.
Sargent was relentless in collecting instruments, says Karen Borman, the club’s immediate past president.
“Sarge wrote letters to other Kiwanis clubs, telling them we needed musical instruments,” she explains. “At our meetings, he would remind us about the project. He also talked with churches.”
You can go home
After 48 years of self-imposed exile, Eck Spahich recently returned to his native Bosnia (“Croatian-American Serves Country, Homeland,” August 2002).
Born in Tuzla, Bosnia, the longtime member and former president of the Borger, Texas, Kiwanis club, left his homeland as a 15-year-old in 1960 to join his father in Dumas, Texas. Though he embraced his new country, Eck never forsook his homeland and longed to return. Hostilities there during Bosnia’s struggle for independence from Communist Yugoslavia, however, prevented him from going back until recently. He says he found his hometown “drastically changed.”
“Along the highways and roads,” he says, “there is visible evidence of war damage to residential and commercial properties—damaged roofs, bullet holes, broken-glass windows. The town I knew as a 15-year-old is now a city with vibrant street traffic, high-rise apartment complexes, and industry.”
During his visit, Eck was able to reunite with cousins and other family members. “I was impressed,” he says, “with everyone’s friendliness and such a nice welcome extended to me after so many years being away.”
Newest among oldest
One of Kiwanis’ newest members is among its oldest. This past January 8, the Kiwanis Club of Tempe-Nuevo, Arizona, welcomed Bernando LaPallo into its membership. Bernardo, who celebrated his 106th birthday on August 17, told the club his chief goal is helping people to stay healthy.
Students build passion for service
Photo courtesy of: Kelley Cox, The Glenwood Springs Post Independent |
The St. Stephen’s Catholic School Builders Club takes a break during a recent meeting. |
Within the St. Stephen’s Catholic School in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, there are 22 fifth- through eighth-grade students dedicated to do all they can to better their school, community, and nation, all while enhancing their leadership capabilities. “(Builders Club) helps them learn how to be good leaders in the community,” Bob Littler, vice-president of the Glenwood Springs Kiwanis club, sponsors of the Builders Club, told The Post Independent. “We’ve had a very successful club at St. Stephen’s.”
During its nine years, the Builders have satisfied their passion for service in many ways. As one recent example, members organized pancake breakfasts and other fundraisers to sponsor a classmate’s participation in an equine therapy program. Their Kiwanis sponsors were so impressed, they are sponsoring the youth this year.
Faculty advisor Rosario Young believes Builders Club teaches students about community service and getting involved: “They’ve been pretty prolific in what they’ve done.”
Friendliness persuasion
Who had the most influence on your decision to volunteer: family member, friend, business colleague, or neighbor?
That is a question that will be posed in a June online poll at www.kiwanis.org. April's question: "How do leaders best illustrate visions for the future?"
Top 10 tips to keep your child reading this summer
- Use Hollywood (movies) to inspire your child to read.
- Play a summer reading game at your library, or start your own book club.
- Involve your child in planning your summer vacation.
- Start a collection.
- Visit a comic shop.
- Read cookbooks and packaged food labels.
- Read instruction pamphlets.
- Read the newspaper aloud.
- Get a magazine subscription for your child.
- Be a reading role model.
Source: greatschools.net
Fargo sets world record
When the Guinness World Records updates its pancake-flipping stats and puts the Fargo, North Dakota, Kiwanis club at the top of the list, the editors should add an asterisk to the listing. After all, how many records are broken in near-blizzard conditions?
The Fargo Kiwanians fixed 34,818 pancakes in eight hours this past February to surpass the previous world record of 30,724 pancakes griddled by a Texas Lions Club in 2002. A Guinness representative was in attendance to certify the results.
Snow temporarily closed an interstate from neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, and temperatures fell to 15 below (Fahrenheit) before the grilling was finished. Still, thousands of hungry customers showed up. “We’re officially the largest pancake feed in the world,” club president Matt Sullivan says. The fundraiser nets about $30,000 annually.
Icon reaches milestone
In Greenfield, Indiana, the name of James Bryce Stephens is synonymous with education. In recognition of his longtime career as a teacher, coach, principal, and superintendent, the community’s newest educational facility bears his name: J.B. Stephens Elementary School.
More recently, the Greenfield Kiwanian became known for another life achievement: celebrating his 100th birthday.
Club Clinic
Q The Builders Club our club sponsors is in a lull. Any suggestions on how we can get it fired up?
A. Some years ago, your Kiwanis club, the school, and the students were excited enough about service and leadership to organize the Builders Club. Recommit yourself to that original vision. Then, take a look at the present situation.
Generally, the first step is to determine if there is a weak link in the operation of the club. Too often, that weak link is in the adult leadership. Is the Kiwanis club fulfilling its responsibility as a sponsor? Are you and your fellow members attending the Builders Club’s meetings and assisting with its projects? Is the faculty advisor devoting enough time to the club? Is the school principal still interested in the program?
Without adult encouragement, student excitement can wane. If there seems to be a mood of indifference among the Builders Club members, host a reactivation party, sponsor a dance or dinner, or return the club to its service roots by planning a meaningful project, such as visiting residents at a retirement center or cleaning the trashiest street in town. Initiate a pen pal project with members of another, stable Builders Club. A Kiwanis International service bulletin offers more suggestions on how to ignite an inactive club; visit buildersclub.org.
Q Would it be proper for our club to join a newly created community council in our town?
A. If your board of directors is agreeable, there is not reason no to. In fact, it’s another way to extend Kiwanis’ reputation as a leader in leadership-development, and many clubs find this is an excellent way to build synergy within their community, multiplying their service impact.
‘Santas’ do double duty in Quito
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Bob Carpenter presents a gift to one of the seniors at the community center. |
Bob and Kay Carpenter and Joan Greene of the Punta Gorda, Florida, Kiwanis club were among 70 “Santas” spreading good cheer throughout Quito, Ecuador, this past December as part of the annual Santa Goodwill Tour. Unlike past years, though, this year’s trek took an interesting turn when they also exchanged season’s greetings there with Ecuadorian Kiwanians.
Plans for the rendezvous actually were formed during this past summer’s International convention in San Antonio, Texas, where the Parkers met Leonardo Berrezueta, then governor-elect of the Ecuador District-in-formation, and Jesus Ochoa of the San Fernando, California, Kiwanis club. During their conversation, Jesus shared that while he was in the US Navy, his Kiwanis club collected school supplies and he delivered them to the Kiwanis club in Manta, Ecuador, where he was stationed. The Manta club built and sponsors two schools there.
Knowing they would be visiting Ecuador during the holiday season, the Parkers swapped e-mails with their new Kiwanis friends during the rest of the summer to firm up their Kiwanis component of the Santa tour.
“At the Quito airport, we were met greeted by a delegation of Quito Kiwanians, complete with a welcome banner,” Bob recalls. “The next morning, we met with Marco Benitez, Ecuador’s governor-elect, and Lieutenant Governor Ricardo Moncayo (of the Pinchincha Division) and presented them with a large suitcase full of small gifts for Quito children. We also gave them a check for $400 from our Kiwanis club for a Christmas party for the 120 children at the schools sponsored by the Manta club.”
The trip was capped off by a visit to the Quito club’s weekly meeting, which proved to be as inspiring as it was enjoyable.
“We toured their Kiwanis building where their main project is providing dental care for poor children,” Bob explains. “They also have a mobile van doing dental care once a month for children in remote areas.”
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